`US held 5 inspections of Russian missile forces`

Moscow: The United States has conducted five inspections of Russia`s missile forces in the past six months, a Russian military official said on Monday.

As part of the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), US inspectors have held five inspections since December in the sites of Russia`s Strategic Missile Forces, Rocket Forces Commander Lt Gen Sergei Karakayev told local media.

Under the framework of the new treaty, Russia and the United States could conduct 18 annual inspections to verify each other`s strategic offensive weapons, Karakayev said, adding that the two sides exchange information on their strategic offensive arms on March 01 and September 01 each year.

The new START treaty, which came into force last February, obliges the two countries to hold limited numbers of deployed land-based and sea-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, heavy bombers, warheads and launchers.

The treaty`s duration will be 10 years and it may be extended for no more than five years.